The first issue of The Big Bad Wolf showed some bite, but it's the second chapter that begins to show the depth of a world filled with dangerous, colorful creatures.

The Arch Enemy Entertainment comic-book series follows a pair of bounty-hunting siblings, Peter and Abigail Cole, as they seek the Old Man, who is key to keeping Peter from turning into a full-bore werewolf when he turns 30 years old.

Fans of the series, written by Jason Stevens, Arch Enemy founder William Wilson and Nikita TV star Shane West, were introduced to the brother-and-sister duo in the first issue as well as to evil werewolf Eugene Trapp.

"Issue 1 was like the slick, wham-bam, right-in-your-face story," West says. "Issue 2 really starts to define the relationships a little bit more and how it's going to roll into issue 3 and beyond.

Every Wednesday, USA TODAY will exclusively present new pages from the second issue of The Big Bad Wolf, featuring art by Jean-Paul Deshong (Neverland). Arch Enemy is also teaming with DRASAR MONUMENTAL to give Big Bad Wolf fans a download of the instrumental score.

Issue 2 picks up a little after the first left off: Peter and Abby are back in the United States and, with an FBI agent named Jenna, are interrogating the recently captured Eugene to find out where the Old Man is.

Meanwhile, in Abernathy, Wash., Sheriff Ben Reilly and the townspeople are in a state of distress because something very dangerous and weird is capturing folks in the woods.

The dual story lines will eventually dove-tail into one another as Peter and Abby head to the Pacific Northwest to investigate, and in the meantime the devious Eugene becomes an essential supporting character in the overall story as a source of information for the siblings.

"There are some things you don't have the answers for, and Eugene's that guy," Stevens says. "There's nothing redeeming about this cat. He's a killer, and we're not going to redeem him. But he's a smart guy, he's cunning, and if he has another crack at Peter, he'll take it."

The first wolfed-out guy seen in The Big Bad Wolf, Eugene looks more "human" than other werewolves in pop culture.

While he does keep some traits of being a man, Deshong says, "he definitely becomes something more."

"With Eugene, we always wanted him menacing, huge. He's this bad guy who's come to get what he wants and he doesn't care who gets in the way. We wanted that look on his face and his look in his eye — that overall aura in his character."

Adds Wilson: "Eugene represents a good balance of somebody who is evil, but he looks superhuman in a supernatural sense. He looks like a beast. Jean-Paul always captures this really sinister sense of this world and how these people can move past the norm of what you've seen in supernatural books."

But what's roaming around the forests of Abernathy is more than just a werewolf problem. The creepy creature represents a certain X Files-type, "monster of the week" nature that the series will have going forward.

"We wanted to really open up the palette," Stevens says. "You learn that there are creatures, they are pretty monstrous, pretty devious beings in their own right.

"There's one stalking the woods, and this is the de facto mission Peter and Abby have to go on. This thing is just out-and-out bloodthirsty."

Monstrous is what Peter is trying to avoid turning into as the deadline nears every day on when he will go full wolf. Deshong says readers will see certain changes and a sense of duality as Peter succumbs to his inner beast every so often.

Yet, the artist adds, "when he's not tapping into that power, he's going to do his best to hold it at bay. I'm going to walk the balance: You can see it coming on when he's normal, but you also see him trying to control it psychologically to make sure he doesn't become what he's trying to prevent before he comes across the Old Man."

The cliffhanger of the first issue had Eugene declare the Old Man dead, but Stevens admits you can't always trust what he says and things may not be as they appear with Peter. "It's not black and white. (The Old Man) makes an appearance, and it's not quite what the reader might expect."

The writers also want to explore more of the dynamic between Peter and Abby. Unlike with, say, the Winchester brothers on TV's Supernatural — who seem to be polar opposites but have a certain common ground, according to Wilson — there is a stark contrast between the strong and stoic Peter and his smart, witty and wise-cracking sister.

"Peter was designed to be that guy who is all action, no words, and if he did speak, it would be very powerful what he says and when he says it," Wilson says.

"You have to keep in mind that he's carrying around a curse," Stevens adds. "He knows his time is running out, so he doesn't really have time to mince words. He just wants to do the job and get it done and move on.

"With Abby, you're afforded a little more luxury. Granted, she carries around a little different burden, but from a character standpoint, that's what we're going for, and I think we hit it."

That sibling relationship is important to West, but also hits close to home: He and his sister, who's a year and a half younger, grew up in Louisiana and California and have "gone through everything together," says the actor.

And while Peter and Abby won't step on each other's toes too much in the beginning, that will probably change over time — which West knows from personal experience.

"You have a camaraderie, but you also can be very argumentative because you've just been raised together," he says. "You know each other mentally and emotionally, but you pick on each other. It's a natural thing.

"If myself and my sister in real life were suddenly transported into that world and were Peter and Abby, I could definitely see us arguing a lot."